Help – People Want to Examine My Gimmicked Playing Cards

Christian is worried about people asking to examine his gimmicked deck of playing cards. He writes:

'I use a Pop Eyed Popper deck. The spectator maybe ask for a closer look at the deck of playing cards. That's not possible.'

That's a really good question, and one that is asked quite often, when magicians are worried about using gaffed or gimmicked decks of playing cards. Here are 5 tips for what to do when you find yourself in the situation when a spectator asks to examine your deck of playing cards.

1) Why they are asking?

If a magic trick has been routined correctly and the magic builds to a suitable climax at the end, your spectators should be reacting to the magic that they have just witnessed. It's an issue of 'engagement and reaction'. The magic trick should entertain them, and draw them into the experience, so the magic isn't perceived as a 'puzzle'. If you find that spectators just ask testing questions, at the end of a trick, look at your presentation and think about ways to make the magic have more impact or for their reactions to be increased. Are you unintentionally presenting the magic trick as a puzzle? Are you signalling that the magic trick is just a 'question' that prompts the spectator to think of 'answers'. Changing a few lines of presentation and see if that fixes the issue.

2) Look for gimmicked decks of playing cards that can be switched in and out of play.

Many gaffed decks only need to be introduced into play for a short period of time. Once they are used, they can be put away or switched out for a regular deck. Think about ways of switching your decks, or ditching out the gaffs when they are no longer needed. There are many devices on the market that will switch a deck easily if you prefer to avoid sleight of hand methods.

3) Build in convincers.

Many of the better gimmicked or gaffed decks of playing cards have built in systems to convince spectators that the decks are normal. The Pop Eyed Popper Deck is designed to be spread both face up and face down, so all the cards are shown to be normal. Try to avoid making a big deal about the fairness of the playing cards you use. It should be assumed that they are normal, so over proving the point can work against you and raise suspicion. The routining of the magic trick should be developed, so the playing cards are shown as much as possible in a natural way throughout the trick.

4) It doesn't happen often.

Much of the worry about spectators asking to examine your cards happens before many beginners start performing. They think that spectators will automatically be looking to try to catch them out. Part of this feeling comes from being a magician. As you have been focusing on the method for the trick, it's easy for you to forget that the method is not central to the attention of your audience. They only see the presentation and magical effect that is produced. This feeling can be reinforced for beginners as they tend to perform for their friends in informal situations. Your friends probably enjoy nothing more than trying to tease and catch you out, because that's what friends like to do generally. It's just as much fun for them to challenge you because they are not in a situation where you are there to perform for them. The normal rules of play are very different between a group of friends having fun, and a group of spectators watching a magic performance. In normal performing situations, it's actually VERY rare that people will stop the show to examine props.

5) Relax about the situation.

The most important thing to remember is to relax about it. There isn't anything wrong with simply putting the deck in your pocket if you start to get challenged and giving the spectator a big smile. In just the same way as a stage illusionist wouldn't let everyone rush up onto the stage and examine their illusion equipment. If you find yourself in the situation where a spectator asks to play with the deck, simple pop it into your pocket as they ask the question. Laugh and move on to the next thing that you want to show them.

Got some advice about how you handle people asking to examine your playing cards? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below:

Why Magicians Want To Teach Performance and Practice Skills

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Why does a magic shop publish a blog just about performing, practicing and developing as a magician?

Why does the blog recommend that you slow down your spending on new magic tricks, and focus on the material you already have?

Why not just post news and reviews about the magic trick products that the magic shop sells?

The answer is so simple that we don't even need to explain it. You can see why we love running the blog just from comments like this one from a customer to the magic shop:

'Thanks for the help and advise I've received from the team so far.

In September 2012, I performed my first gig at a small wine bar in my local town, and now a year on and some great times performing magic at events, I'm enjoying learning, practicing and performing as a magician!

I couldn't have done any of it without help from Ben Williams, Dominic Reyes , and the team at the Merchant of magic!! I recommend them for their experience as professional magicians. Their tips and stories help anyone prepare for the scary first gig, or even an unusual performance in difficult circumstances! Thank You!' – Joel Spaven

It's not about the magic shop.

Thanks Joel, but the hard work came from YOU. Like many of our customers, and especially the magicians that have personal tuition from us, we only point them in the right direction, suggest magic tricks that are the best for them, and show them where to find out more. Your success moving into performing for the public comes from you taking ACTION! Making a conscious decision to move your magic forward, rather than staying 'safe' and not getting out there to perform.

For us, it's not really about selling in the end. If it was, we wouldn't choose magic as a product! All the team are working magicians, madly and deeply in love with magic. The shop supports us, feeds our families and allows us to focus on magic full time, but it's purpose is to push magic forwards, allow beginners to discover magic, push past the casual hobby stage and build a lifelong passion for studying magic and most importantly PERFORMING.

People lose interest in magic.

Over the years, we found out some interesting stats about magic, and peoples interest in it. The average period of interest a beginner has is around 6 months. 63% of beginners drop out of practice after 6 months dabbling in developing the skills of a magician. After that, a second 'drop out' period occurs at 2 years. One of the biggest factors for continuing learning magic past the 2 year period is PERFORMING. If a beginner starts performing during that initial 2 year period, they are highly likely to continue their interest in learning magic for many years to come.

The mission.

It's these statistics that motivate the team. We want to find a way to push people past those 'drop out' danger zones. Give them motivation to practice, and gently encourage them to start showing people the magic tricks they have spend so long practicing. That's what a real magic dealer should contribute to the magic community, and it's the mission statement of the merchant of magic team.

How Much to Charge for a Magic Show?

by Merchant of Magic 14 Comments

Analyzing financial data

Would you like to make a living out of performing your magic? If you are going to do that.. You need to decide how much to charge for a magic show.

Most people that learn magic tricks, do so for the fun of it. It’s a wonderful, rewarding hobby. You may, however, be planning to earn a small income as a magician or even turning your obsession into a career and become a professional magician. If you do decide to start performing magic for money, there is some important information you should think about first:

Will you be Professional or Semi Professional?

The vast majority of working magicians earn an income from magic on a part-time basis. They have a current employer and supplement their wages by doing magic in the evenings and weekends. As the weekends tend to be the most popular time for social events that require a magician, semi professional magicians can fill their diary quite nicely through the year, and still maintain a full time job. The aim is often to build their reputation over time before being able to move into doing magic full-time. There are several advantages to starting off semi-pro:

There is little financial risk.
You can maintain your current lifestyle.
Income from magic doesn’t have to be used for living expenses.
Time can be taken to build and develop your act and reputation above the average magician.
You can perform when you want to, not because you have to.

What type of magic act will you perform?

This isn’t about the types of magic tricks you perform or your performing persona. You need to look at your act as a product. What type of product will it be?

Will you directly market your services yourself, or focus on working with an agent?
Where will you market yourself, only local, or are you happy to travel?
Will you work alone, or will you be using an assistant?
Do you intend to have a secondary income doing film or TV work (Perhaps as a consultant)?

Who will your customers be?

Understanding your customers is essential for determining both the product you will offer and the fee you can charge.

Will you be aiming at companies and venues, of focusing mainly on private individuals with wedding and party events?
What level of affluence does your target/local area have?
What is the persona of your average client? Professional/family/retired etc.

What is the competition doing?

It’s important to understand what level of fee’s your competition has achieved in your local area. Getting some quotes from other magicians will help, but take the advice of fellow magicians with a pinch of salt, as they tend to exaggerate. Getting quotes from local entertainment agencies tends to be more reliable. Bare in mind, that in any area there will be magicians charging at the top of their ‘payment ceiling’ and others who are underselling themselves. Never try to be the cheapest, it tends to work against you over the long term. The aim is to be in the middle or towards the top of the fee structure in your area as quickly as possible.

When can you work?

If you are performing semi-professionally, and holding down a day job, you may have to limit your gigs to the weekend, or only take bookings that start later in the evening. Even then, if you have a family, it’s essential to spare time for them too. If you intend to make your full time living from magic, you will need to be able to commit to working evenings and weekends. It’s great having your days free, but your friends and family may not think the same. It’s very important to discuss the implications of being a magician with your family, and to have their support.

How much money would you like and how much do you need?

The first step in setting a professional fee, is to determine how much money you NEED. This is quite different from how much money you WANT.

Make a list of all your outgoings. Get your last 12 months bank statements and note down the total that went out of the account each month. It’s important to use a year worth of bank statements as some expenses are annual. Group the debts into categories so you see exactly how much you spend on the following on average each month:

Rent or mortgage
Utilities and services
Average monthly spend on food
Clothing
Travel
Loan or card repayments
Club memberships
Insurance
Pension and monthly savings
Car payments such as tax and insurance

Now use the statements to calculate how much money you spend on entertainment and small impulse purchases.

You should now have two figures. The first is for your essential fixed expenses. This much money HAS to be earned each month just to live at your current comfort level. The second figure is your leisure or fun money. This second figure is not as fixed as the first and can fluctuate over time. Think of it as your ‘buffer zone’.

Once you have these figures, if you add them together, it will give you the total amount of money you need to earn each month to continue your current lifestyle. This figure is very important for the next step.

How much you NEED to charge.

Nobody is the same. We all have different commitments, responsibilities and interests. A young single person can have much more disposable income whilst earning far less than a person who has a mortgage and needs to support a large family. The old saying ‘It’s not how much you earn that’s important, it’s how much you spend’ is very true. That makes it hard to give any examples of income, as we are all different. In this discussion, I assume the average monthly income in the UK, so simply correct these figures to fit your own income needs and commitments that you calculated by looking at your bank statements over the last 12 months. The average household income in the UK is currently £2000 per month, so I will use that figure as a baseline.

The most important question of all.

How many gigs will I need to do each week and how much do I need to charge for each gig, to bring in an income equal or greater amount than my expenditure?

Let me introduce you to a great website that is free to use: Your Rate

Your Rate is a website that asks just three questions:

How much money you need to earn every month
How many hours you can work each week
How many weeks of holiday you intend to take.

Fill those in and get an hourly rate to charge. Your Rate calculates this for you, and builds in how much you should include for savings and how much is needed to pay your tax on the earnings you make. Because tax rates vary by country, and it is allowing for savings, it multiplies the actual rate needed by 2 to give the final total.

As a magician you are going to use it in a slightly different way. In your mind, change ‘How many hours do you want to work per week?’ to ‘how many gigs do you want to do each week’.

Let’s say the average close-up magician does 3 gigs every week and has 2 weeks holiday. What fee would he need to charge each gig to earn him an income of £2000 per month with taxes and savings covered.

To earn £2000 per month the magician should charge £347 per gig, doing 3 gigs per week and having a 2 week holiday each year. This included taxes and savings built in.

Let’s say the magician averages 2 gigs per week. What fee would he need to charge per gig to make the UK average income of £2000 per month after tax and savings.

How much should a magician charge for perfroming magic tricks?

To earn £2000 after tax and savings, a magician should charge around £500 per booking and do 2 shows per week.

Let’s look at a different type of magician. Children’s shows start from around £100-£200 per show.

If a children’s magician charges £150 per show and does 7 shows every week (with a 2 week holiday), it will bring in an income of £2000 per month after taxes and savings.

You can use the Your Rate website to enter your own figures and play with the results.

DO THIS: Use Your Rate to see how many gigs you would need to do, with your area average fee per gig to earn the income you made over the last 12 months. See if the fee you would need to charge is viable for your reputation, the number of gigs you think you can average over a year and the fee’s your competition are charging.